Did You Know You can be Arrested in India if you Convert to Christianity?

Orissa Police on Tuesday arrested twelve tribals for allegedly undergoing religious conversion in an ‘illegal’ manner. According to sources, the tribals were arrested after a case was registered at Rasgobindpur police station in Mayurbhanj district for violating Orissa Freedom of Religion Act (OFRA). The arrested, including nine women, were booked under Section 4 of the Freedom of Religion Act . Police are now on the lookout for two Baptist pastors who also have been named by the complainant. Inspector In-Charge of Rasgobindpur police station, Santosh Das, told Press Trust of India that the twelve tribals arrested from Rasgobindpur area were produced before a court in Bairpada which sent them to jail. The Orissa Freedom of Religion Act prohibits religious conversions without the prior permission of the local police and a district magistrate. The order stipulates that a citizen wishing to convert must undergo a police inquiry to explain his or her reasons.

So much for freedom in the world’s largest ‘democracy’. But of course here in the States no one cares what you convert to. You can even convert to that most feckless of all religions, atheism, and no one will be bothered.